Infernas
Infernas, also known as The Three Puritan Girls, are a trio of minor but dangerous villains from the 2004 horror game The Suffering, numbering among the many ghosts tormenting protagonist Torque throughout his journey across Carnate Island while also serving as powerful enemies late in the game. Likely the only Malefactors to possess recognizable personalities and lives outside of combat, the names of these ghostly children have been lost to history, and as such are known only by the alias given to them by Clem. They were all voiced by Bhama Roget. Appearance At once ghosts and Malefactors, each member of the trio possess two distinctive forms: the first and more human of the two, encountered over the majority of their time in the game, is that of a young girl of approximately 13 years of age; dark-haired, pale and dressed in Puritan-era clothing, they carry hand-made dolls wherever they go - later revealed to be explosive talismans. All three girls look quite similar - though it is uncertain if this is some side-effect of their supernatural nature, or if they are actually siblings. However, even in this form, it has made abundantly clear that these children are not human, for they will occasionally leave glowing red footprints in the ground. Late in the game, they manifest their second form - that of the Inferna Malefactor: little more than a charred, burning corpse in the tattered remains of Puritan dresses, the Infernas are perpetually wreathed in flames and possess only a partial resemblance to human children - though they still wield the same handmade dolls they carried in their initial form. Unlike their ghost-selves, the Infernas can be harmed and actually destroyed, crumbling into a heap of glowing ashes that must be dispersed lest the Malefactor resurrect itself. Still, even with dispersing the glowing ashes it should be noted that although their Malefactor form that is Inferna can be destroyed, their spirits are immortal, therefore the trio is capable of reincarnating as many times as they like, making their destruction of corporeal forms only temporary. Behavior As the only Malefactors to demonstrate anything close to personality in the entire game, the Infernas retain their original identities from the days when they were still alive: as such, all three possess a childish sense of cruelty and a vicious and spiteful sense of humor throughout their appearances, exhibiting little, otherwise any regard for the lives of others. Regularly taunting Torque over the fate of his sons, they confront him with visions of Malcolm and Cory lying dead at his feet, needling him over his inability to save them - if not outright accusing him of murdering them himself; later, they can be seen playing hopscotch with Cory's ghost, cheekily asking Torque if he wants to join them. At one point, the girls can even crank-call Torque, asking if they can play with Malcolm and Cory, and upon "hearing" that both boys are dead, gleefully ask if they can play anyway. Furthermore, they can often be seen spying on Torque from a distance prior to their tenure as enemies, hurriedly sprinting away if he gets too close - audibly giggling as they do so. Outside of their initial interactions with Torque, the three girls take great delight in committing arson, especially when it results in death and destruction: already introduced barring the path ahead with an exploding doll and a sadistic giggle, it is implied that most of the larger fires set throughout the game are their handiwork; in particular, the destruction of Carnate's only civilian settlement is directly linked to them, especially given that the Infernas emerge as combatants when Torque's escape attempt leads him towards the burning ruins of the town. Furthermore, they hunt as regularly as any other Malefactor in the game, and some Corrections Officers were so terrified of "those girls" that they resorted to hiding in the Burrower-haunted caverns of the island. Finally, they even go so far as to re-enact their first crimes by igniting the pyre site where the witch-burnings took place. As with many characters on the island, it is also uncertain how much of their sadistic and cruel behavior was due to their own personality and how much was caused by exposure to Carnate Island's unique nature, but it presumably played a role: towards the very end of the game, the Infernas seemingly regain some sense of lucidity, reacting with confusion and weariness to their surroundings, remarking "who are all these strange people?" and "we've been playing for so long." Later, flashing back to the crimes they committed in life, they swing wildly between sociopathic contempt and grief-stricken remorse, some of them even going so far as to cry "I take it all back." As such, their part in the story ends with them re-enacting the events of their presumed death - jumping from the cliffs of Carnate into the ocean. Biography Origins In the 17th century, Carnate Island was settled by Puritan pilgrims who established a small settlement on the island's coast, well away from the ominous forests and caverns that dominated the heart of Carnate. Named Goodsmouth, it was in this town that the three future Infernas were born and raised: though their real names and the details of their lives prior to the disaster are unknown, it can be presumed that they enjoyed relatively normal childhoods. However, Carnate Island has an unnatural tendency to drive individuals to extremes, gradually exaggerating their natural tendencies into nightmarish caricatures, and the three girls were no exception. In 1681, a 13-year-old girl suddenly accused a fellow villager of witchcraft, shocking the town with wild claims of pacts with the devil; backed up by her two close friends, she went on to accuse no less than eleven people. Already on-edge from life on an island so grim and forbidding that even the Natives refused to set foot on it, the Puritans quickly succumbed to mass hysteria, having all eleven of the accused arrested, tried and executed. However, rather than simply hanging the condemned, as was the accepted method of execution in other notable witch-trials, Goodsmouth's authorities had the "witches" burned at the stake. It soon became apparent that the condemned were innocent: initially, the three girls had been simply accusing people they personally disliked, but had continued because they'd enjoyed the power they'd held over both the accused and the angry mobs that had arrested them. All three accusers then simply vanished from Goodsmouth and were never seen again: from Torque's visions later in the game, it can be presumed that they were driven to suicide by the crimes they'd committed, and jumped to their deaths from the cliffs overlooking the ocean. Events Of The Game As with the other ghosts and Malefactors encountered throughout the game, the three girls return in the Cataclysm following Torque's arrival on Carnate. The first evidence of their activities arrives in the form of a radio transmission from Consuela Alvarez, who is attempting to call the prison for help - as a fire seems to have sprung up in the woods just outside the town and is growing steadily nearer. However, the Infernas do not actually appear until after Torque finally escapes from the prison in "Darkest Night, Eternal Blight," and begins making his way across the island in search of Dr Killjoy's asylum; like the Burrowers introduced around this time, the girls seem to prefer outdoor areas and rarely (if at all) venture inside buildings. Torque's first encounter with the girls features two of them abruptly wandering up to him in the middle of the wilderness, playfully remarking on his current karma rating, and then leaving without another word. However, one of the girls leaves her doll behind, which rises into the air in a startling display of supernatural power - before abruptly exploding, setting the path ablaze and forcing Torque to knock down a water tower in order to douse the flames. By the time the fire has been extinguished, the girls have vanished without a trace. During the following chapter, "Oblivion Regained," the girls can be seen spying on Torque from a distance as he attempts to navigate the abandoned quarry, usually running away if he ever gets close enough to their isolated perches. Much like the Burrowers that frequent the quarry tunnels, their presence is easily given away by the all-too noticeable trails they leave in their wake: wherever they go, the girls leave tiny glowing footprints burned into the ground, and any fences in their way have been melted - conveniently allowing Torque to escape the area by following their tracks. Following the confrontation with Dr Killjoy at the asylum, the girls begin to appear more frequently, particularly during Torque's encounters with the ghosts of his family: pursuing the apparition of his sons into the asylum's neighboring hedge maze in "Lonely Place To Die," he instead finds the girls, asking him if he wants to play with them. In the same level, while exploring the ruins of the burned house, the girls once again appear to him, tauntingly warning him that it's not safe to play with fire - an early indication of their true nature and their affinity for areas associated with fire. Later, in "Death Be Not Proud," pursuing inmate Jimmy the Mad Bomber into Carnate's natural cave network leads Torque through a flooded passageway, where he experiences a vision of the girls standing over Cory and Malcolm's burning corpses and mocking him - either for his failure to save them, or for murdering them. They continue trolling him as he continues the pursuit, later calling him via the command center phone in order to cheekily ask if Malcolm can come out to play. During this time, it becomes apparent that the girls are not limiting their encounters to Torque: by now, the Infernas have taken the fight to those who've escaped the prison, driving many surviving COs out of their makeshift shelters and into the caves; some are so desperate to avoid encountering the girls again that they're fully prepared to cannibalize their friends in order to avoid leaving the caves for supplies. The girls finally introduce themselves in "And A Child Shall Lead Them" when Torque leaves the lighthouse. Here, they emerge at full strength, for once seemingly troubled by the passage of time, they remark with confusion at "all these strange people," and claim that Torque appeared to them in dreams of the future. Then, they transform into their Inferno forms for the first time and assault Torque; fortunately, CO Ernesto Alvarez (husband to Consuela) is nearby, and the two are able to join forces in spite of their distrust. As they progress through the level, their path draws them steadily closer to the town, and the Infernas continue to attack Torque and Ernesto as the inferno blossoms. During this time, the girls can also be found either musing regretfully on their decision to start the witch-hunt or dancing gleefully around the abandoned pyres, swinging wildly between remorse, hatred and utter psychopathy; in one case, they can even be found playing hopscotch with Malcolm's spirit — a sight that Ernesto finds so disturbing that it actually makes him doubt Torque's guilt for the first time in the entire game. Ernesto even remarked them remind him to his own daughters somehow, unable to help but wonder how everything around Infernas went so wrong. Towards the end of the game, the Infernas openly beg Torque not to leave, pleading for him to stay on the island "with us" - another sign that they acting in part on behalf of Carnate itself. Upon trying and failing to stop Torque in a colossal battle royale, their last appearance features them re-enacting their suicide by jumping from the cliffs overlooking the sea - having been consumed by past regrets and despair. However, as they are still spirits in the service of the island and other such ghosts have returned from similar acts of destruction before, it's not known if this "final" death was permanent or not. Quotes Gallery 48-Clem 08.jpg Inferna1.jpg Category:Video Game Villains Category:Horror Villains Category:Kids Category:Undead Category:Liars Category:Suicidal Category:Remorseful Category:Noncorporeal Category:Partners in Crime Category:Homicidal Category:Dark Forms Category:Thought-Forms Category:Monsters Category:Damned Souls Category:Chaotic Evil Category:Evil from the Past Category:Symbolic Category:Sadists Category:Mentally Ill